Drawing a Line in the Sandbox - Boundaries for FinTech Regulation in Singapore

Singapore has a strong track-record of courting technological innovation and the people and businesses who create it. Having recently celebrated its 51st year of independence, Singapore continues its march towards becoming the world’s first Smart Nation by fully harnessing the benefits of technology to create new opportunities for businesses and consumers, and enhancing Singapore’s reputation as a global financial hub and innovation centre.

Key to achieving this vision is the creation of a conducive regulatory environment for nurturing the growth of financial technology (“FinTech“) firms and a fast-evolving, sophisticated FinTech ecosystem in Singapore. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (“MAS“), Singapore’s financial regulator and Central Bank, released a consultation paper on the proposed guidelines for a “regulatory sandbox” that will enable financial and non-financial institutions to experiment and develop new FinTech solutions in a safe environment (the “Regulatory Sandbox“). Actual regulation will only commence when FinTech companies grow to a size that could pose risks to consumers and the wider financial system. This article provides more details on the Regulatory Sandbox, as well as other recent FinTech developments in Singapore.